Creative DIY Projects That Turn Trash Into Treasure
Accent your next beading project with Cathy Collison’s bottle cap beads. These shiny hollow beauties, sold individually, are made with lead-free solder and feature nearly 70 of your favorite soda pop and beer varieties, from the common Coke to the less common Brownie Chocolate Flavored Drink.
[tags]bottle cap, bottlecap, Coke, Brownie Chocolate Drink, bead, beading[/tags]
Looking for more ways to use bottle caps? Check out this roundup we wrote on more Bottle Cap Crafts.
If you’re raising little recyclers, or just trying to get your kids to stop tossing snack wrappers under the couch, Cheekoo and the Cloud of Trash is the picture book you didn’t know you needed.
In this beautifully illustrated and imaginative story, we meet Cheekoo—a young girl who becomes the unhappiest girl in the world when a literal cloud of trash begins to follow her. Orange peels, plastic bottles, buzzing flies—the whole lot! Why? Because Cheekoo never listened when her Amma told her not to litter.
What makes this story so clever is how it transforms a common environmental lesson into a fun, visual metaphor that’s both humorous and powerful. Kids will laugh (and maybe squirm) at the idea of a garbage cloud trailing behind them, but they’ll also get the message loud and clear: our waste doesn’t just disappear.
As Cheekoo starts encouraging others to stop littering, her trash cloud shrinks—giving kids a hopeful reminder that change starts small, and everyone can help. There’s even an educational section at the end that talks about where trash really goes and how to make better choices like reusing bags or waiting to find the nearest bin.
For crafty parents and educators, this book opens the door to all kinds of creative eco-lessons. Try pairing it with a recycled craft project, like making art from clean trash or DIY bins for sorting recyclables. It’s a fun way to reinforce the book’s message while getting hands-on with the kids.
Final thoughts? Cheekoo and the Cloud of Trash belongs on every eco-conscious family’s bookshelf. It’s smart, silly, and wonderfully inspiring—a gentle nudge toward cleaner habits and a greener future.
Perfect for kids aged 4–8.
i love this idea.. awesome!
cute stuff you got right here.. :0)